One of the nation’s best high school quarterbacks had a clear view of his future.
On Saturday, Micah Alejado was on the Ching Complex sideline during warmups and in the mosh pit of celebrants after kicker Matthew Shipley converted the walk-off, 51-yard field goal in Hawaii’s 27-24 victory over Colorado State.
“Being here for the last game (of the regular season) and seeing the environment and the fan base — the love the fans showed — it was really exciting,” Alejado said. “I’m really looking forward to (next year).”
Alejado said he will honor the oral commitment he made to the Rainbow Warriors in April. Alejado may put his pledge in writing on Dec. 20, the first day of the NCAA’s early-signing period.
It would be a homecoming for Alejado, who grew up in Ewa Beach and attended Saint Louis School before moving to Las Vegas ahead of his freshman year. This season, Alejado has not been intercepted while leading No. 1-ranked Bishop Gorman to a 12-0 record and the cusp of a national title.
“Just being able to fight and end up with a win, the (Warriors) showed a lot of great things heading into next year,” Alejado said. “I think the future’s really exciting.”
The Warriors finished 5-8 overall and 3-5 in the Mountain West in Timmy Chang’s second season as head coach.
Boosted by an improved running attack, the Warriors won three of their final four. The Warriors had a thinned running-back rotation — Derek Boyd and co-captain Tylan Hines suffered season-ending injuries, and two others entered the transfer portal — but walk-ons Landon Sims and David Cordero stepped into expanded roles. And 6-foot-3, 225-pound quarterback Brayden Schager was given the green light to take off on scrambles, keepers and draws. That deterred defenses from overloading on the UH running back.
“We switched our mentality, and I became more of a runner the last four games,” said Schager, who averaged 6.5 yards per non-sack rush during that stretch. “That really changed our offense.”
Because of inexperience and trying to master run-and-shoot elements, Chang said, “we weren’t ready to rush the ball (earlier in the season) like we did the last four games. We were figuring out how to throw the ball. Once we did that, we dove into the running game.”
Chang, the coordinators and the position coaches will conduct exit interviews with each player this week. While acknowledging the transfer portal is a factor for college teams in the offseason, Chang said, “we’ll continue coaching the culture of our team and our buy-in. … I think we’ve done a good job of having good buy-in from guys. I think we’ve moved on from guys who don’t have that type of buy-in and commitment we want here.”
Chang said there are a few players who are facing “real-life situations” who are considering moving on to post-football opportunities. “Football takes up a lot of time,” Chang said.
But as a former record-setting quarterback for the Warriors in the early 2000s, Chang shared his personal experience. “Play as long as you can until you can’t,” he said. “You’re always going to work. When you have this opportunity to play the game, play the game.”
The UH coaches also are focused on recruiting. Topping the list are defensive linemen, offensive linemen and “dynamic” players. “Guys who can help you now,” Chang said.
